Pakistani government, cleric appear to strike deal

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani cleric who led thousands in an anti-government protest in the country’s capital for the past four days appears to have reached an agreement with high-level government officials to end the demonstration.

Protesters danced and cheered when the cleric, Tahir-ul-Qadri, made the announcement, but the details of the declaration remained unclear.

Qadri told the crowd of protesters late Thursday that he was heading to the prime minister’s office to have him sign a declaration he hammered out with a high-level government delegation during hours of negotiations.

Qadri has demanded the government be dissolved and replaced by an independent caretaker government. He also wants electoral reform to weed out corrupt politicians.